Friday, December 30, 2011

Hubby did get me some orange things for Christmas. He is the best!!
This is an orange travel bag that hooks onto the tray hook on the plane. It really came in handy because we were in AZ for Christmas!! This held everything I needed to keep PB happy on the plane.

We have only been back a few days and have had some visitors so I haven't taken the photos off my camera but here are a few pics from my trip I had on my phone.

Here is my cutie nephew, N!!! We took care of him for a whole day! It was the best day. He is 6 months and is so smiley.

PB loves his cousin and N thought PB was the greatest thing ever. N kept whipping his head around to see what PB was doing, it was so sweet.

We went to the Phoenix Zoo while we were there and I got to walk with N in the carrier. I loved carrying PB in this carrier and it was nice having a baby strapped to me again.

I got lots of snuggles in with my guys. I had such a nice trip and it was so great being with my Mom, Bro and SIL. Hubby and I even got a night away while we were there. I was very sad to leave and come back to reality. I'll share some more pics soon. I'm going to enjoy some more relaxing time with my family. Happy Weekend!!

Friday, December 23, 2011

These are some orange coasters Hubby got me a few years ago for Christmas. They are cork and I love how they fit like a six pack holder. I also love that they are orange :) Since they are fun, they also remind people to use coasters! PB has been well trained and always uses a coaster :)

I am going to be taking some time off next week. I want to relax and spend some time with family. Orange Friday will be up next week. I am sure I got something orange for Christmas this year from my Hubby :) He's sweet like that.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

I made my crafty, BFF B a pin cushion with some personalized pins. I saw the idea for the pins a few months ago on No Big Dill and followed her tutorial. Katy made hers orange :) I made some orange ones too while I was gluing these.

I had some purple fat quarters and a purple button and whipped this up in no time. B makes a ton of handmade gifts for her family and she was saying how the project she was sewing wasn't going so well. I asked her if she was pinning and she laughed. I knew right then that she needed some pretty purple pins.

Of course like 5 minutes after I made this I saw these cute owl stuffies that I thought would be really fun pin cushions. DOH!!!

These pins and a pin cushion would make a great gift for any sewer you know.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

My MOMS Club had a cookie swap last week. I made Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Bacon cookies.

Yes, I have put bacon in cookies before. But the last time Hubby and I were eating them I thought that maybe peanut butter would be a nice addition instead of dark chocolate chips. OH BOY was I right. Now these cookies are perfection. The chocolate and peanut butter are delicious together and then every couple of bites there is a salty, smokey surprise.

Look at that big piece of bacon. You wouldn't think this would be delicious but it really is. The recipe is here. Enjoy!!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

I promised a peek at my Christmas decor a while ago. I said I would take some pick when the house was clean. Well, it is finally clean enough in these areas LOL!! But the areas not in the pics, DISASTER!

I really wanted to share my decor because when people come over the comment on how different it is. I guess I never really thought about it but it does look very different from the decor my Mom hangs in her house. I just like color and things that sparkle and that is how i decorate for the holidays. This is the only holiday I decorate for. (I do have a few halloween things but when your house is mostly orange you don't really have to do anything)

These are the shelves between my living room and kitchen. I put most of the things that are usually out away except for some of the vases and added some garland trees. I stuck some of those glittery stick things you put in wreaths, whatever they are called, in my vases.

Here is out mantle. I picked up some glitter snowflakes at Target 4 for $1! I hung those on my wire art thing to make it more festive. I don't know if i am sold on that. I tried a wreath up there, but it looked weird. Then I have more trees on the mantle with some chartreuse garland and our Christmas tree this year is a chartreuse green 5 foot tree. It is small and thin so I can leave it decorated with a bag over it in the basement when it's not out.

Here is the top of PB's toy shelf. I change out the pics in the frames to the pics from his first christmas. I love those pictures. There is a 5 minute garland tree I made and the mirror tree is Crate and Barrel from a few years ago and the white tree is from Target.

This is the view right from the couch and is the opening to the garage door. These hanging things were the fun things I bought on clearance at Target last year. The swirly things actually are 3 of them together but I cut them apart which means I have 6 of each color. I have red, chartreuse, silver and pink hanging around the house. The green snowflake was also a clearance find at Target. There are a few more of those hanging around the house. Everything is hung with magic tape and has held really well.

Here are more trees and fun spiral things. This is right next to the front door. The glitter snowflakes are from the dollar section at Target. OH how I love Target!! You can see my ribbon pillows on the couch in the lounge. I really should do a tutorial for those, they make great gifts! So I guess you won't find santa figurines or snowmen in my house. Just some fun colors and lots of sparkle, oh how I love sparkle this time of year.

That is pretty much all my decor. Have more spiral hanging things by my windows and no decorations upstairs. I think I still need a few things in the lounge. Maybe more trees? Is it getting to be too much of a forrest in here??

Monday, December 19, 2011

PB is obsessed with all the accessories his daddy has. He can turn anything into a watch or wallet and has been begging for a belt. So I made him some man accessories and I used some fabric that I bought as an impulse on Black Friday at Joanns.

PB likes to take my fabric scraps and stick them in his shirt and pretend he is Jack from 30 Rock. Is it inappropriate for a 2.5 year old to like to watch 30 Rock? Sure. But I love the way he pretends he is Jack so it's ok :) I followed Very Homemade's Little Man Tie tutorial to make him a tie.

I used a scrap piece of 1 inch elastic for the watch. I sewed a pocket of fabric that was just a little longer and almost the same width so it wouldn't be bulky but would still stretch a little. Then I took a scrap and turned it into the face of the watch. I hand stitched the hands with thick thread.

While I was making PB's belt I made one for his BFF, A. I saw the birds in my bin and knew it would make a really cute girl belt. I followed the pattern in Sewing for Boys to make the belt. These were crazy easy to make I could see whipping up a bunch in fun fabrics to go with a boys wardrobe. PB wears a lot of orange of course :)

Friday, December 16, 2011

I just got this orange ornament from my friend, A. I absolutely love felt and wood together. I love when wood is intricately cut out. I also have an obsession with cutting out snowflakes so this is really a prefect ornament for me. PB and I are going to do coffee filter snow flakes this year.

I am happy to say that i am almost done with my crafting for the holidays. I have an art smock to make for PB and a couple other things too. I really busted my butt to get it all done this week and I am feeling less stressed. My house is a disaster but I'm OK with it :)

PB and I are going to make some cut out cookies today and I am hoping to go for a ride to look at lights this weekend. My friend, JJ, suggested going to Chick-fil-a for milkshakes and then driving around, that sounds pretty great to me!!! Happy weekend!!!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

These are the cookies I made my secret sister. I can post them here because I don't think we have ever met so I am pretty sure she doesn't read this and if she does, I guess the secret is out! Her favorite candy is...

...Andes Mints. I never really thought about them as candy. I guess if it isn't in the impulse buy section starting me in the face as I check out I don't really think about it. I was searching online recipes with andes mints and came across this Chocolate Mint Cookies I on AllRecipes.com

I do love mint and chocolate together. Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream is the ice cream I am most likely to get when I go out for ice cream. But as far as chocolate goes I think chocolate and caramel, chocolate and marshmallow, and chocolate and peanut butter are tied for first and then chocolate and mint is second. And when I say chocolate, I mean dark chocolate. And fruity chocolate (not fruit dipped in chocolate) is at the very bottom of the list. I think I would eat salad for dessert before I would eat fruity chocolate. Wow that took me to a weird place, back to these cookies. Make these. They taste like winter and the holidays.

In a large pan over low heat, cook butter, sugar and water until butter is melted. Add chocolate chips and stir until partially melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir until chocolate is completely melted. Pour into a large bowl and let stand 10 minutes to cool off slightly.

At high speed, beat in eggs, one at a time into chocolate mixture. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients, beating until blended. Chill dough about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Roll dough into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake 8-10 minutes. While cookies are baking unwrap mints and divide each in half. When cookies are brought out of the oven, put 1/2 mint on top of each cookie. Let the mint sit for up to 5 minutes until melted, then spread the mint on top of the cookie. (i baked 24 and popped the rest in the freezer)

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

It has been pretty crazy here. This weekend was supposed to be a crafting weekend and I got PB's stomach virus and was on the couch all day Saturday. Sunday I was still not feeling myself but now I am back and here is what I have been up to.

YUMMY cookies for my secret sister. i will try really hard to get this recipe post up this week. These are a perfect holiday cookie. They are a cookie I would have probably never made if I didn't do secret sister with my MOMS Club this year. I also have to bake my cookies for my MOMS Club cookie exchange this week. I am going to get those done today.

Pizza night was supposed to be this weekend but since I was sick, we are doing it on a week night.

My kitchen table. I don't think we will be eating here for the next few days!

These are drying. I'll share what they are soon.

PB wanted to cuddle yesterday and watch Buddy the elf. I know a 2.5 year old is too young to watch Elf and 30 Rock but he asks for it and I just can't say no to his cute face. I did get some knitting done while we cuddled. It is craft crunch time, no time can ben spent not making something.

I am really focused on getting everything made for Christmas and I still haven't wrapped one thing. It has to be done before this weekend!!! YIKES! Back to work!!!

Friday, December 9, 2011

My mom brought me this orange glass dish back from Italy. I love that there is a clear stripe and little blue in there too. My mom loves blue and it complements orange so well :) This dish usually lives on one of my shelves propped up. When I am cooking i put it flat and stick my rings in it.

I had a pretty productive week, I used my serger for the first time and It was so nice and really made my project go together so much quicker. No more double rolling hems for me :) I still have a lot of sewing and knitting to do before Christmas, I just hope I get it all done!! Happy weekend!!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

I have a few new readers this year so I wanted to show you one of my favorite things I made last year. This is a new 5 minute garland tree to add to my collection. What I love about this one is that I used super thick garland and it is multicolor. There is even some orange in there!!! The bonus was I bought this garland on clearance last year and totally forgot about it until I unpacked the decorations. What a nice surprise from past Kris usually she just leaves me a mess or the dishes from yesterday :)

This year target had tinsel trees on sale for $5 the week before Thanksgiving. I picked up that white one and 2 green ones. I couldn't pass it up!! I just love sparkly trees in my house. The pink one here is a 5 minute garland tree I made last year. I think I finally have enough trees... maybe. I'll share a pic next week (when my house is cleaner) and you tell me :)

Past Kris also bought a bunch of other fun decorations at Target last year after Christmas for me to put up this year, I'll share those next week too :) I have a serious love for the day after Christmas shopping for holiday decor. I hope I can control myself this year!!!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Here is just some of my loot that I picked up on Black Friday at Joanns...

Blizzard fleece in a nice variety to make some more deep pocket scarves. There were 3 more in the pile, but I made some scarves and gave them away already. I am making a few for PB's teachers too.

I picked up this christmas fabric to make an advent calendar. It is now the 7th and I have not started it yet. I think this might end up in the pile with the christmas pillows I wanted to make last year and never started :-/

I also bought 8 skeins of yarn, a bunch of notions, 2 bags of batting, stuffing, 3 yards of fabric i didn't need and a cookie tin. I knitted 4 skeins of yarn and am working on the 5th now. The other 3 skeins were for my stash to make baby hats.

Hubby is away this week and I am hoping it is a productive week and I get some PJ pants done and take my serger for a spin!!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

I did another card swap with my MOMS Club. I really love doing it and I love that all I have to do is make some cards and now I have a huge assortment of cards in my stash ready to go.

This is the card I made. Fabric again of course. I used this tutorial over on MADE. I have made this style card for every swap so far and the ladies love them so why mess with a good thing. And seriously they are the easiest cards to make ever if you have a sewing machine. I highly recommend making a set as a gift for the holidays.

Now for the cards I got in the swap:

The theme was winter or thank you and they could be blank or have writing on them.

I don't even think I could pick a favorite, I just think they are all so cool. I love that for the reindeer one she used her son's hand, he is a pretty good sport to do 16 of these!

I can't wait to start sending these out!!! Thanks ladies for another great card swap with some good eats and good conversation!! And an extra thanks for a fun night out away from the house!!!

Friday, December 2, 2011

This is the orb I made a few weeks ago at my glassblowing session. Glassblowing has always been an obsession of mine and it was a dream come true to actually do it. Hubby got me a groupon for a 1 on 1 session to make a paperweight. I prefer to call it an orb, I like that it makes it sound less useful. I got to pick the colors. I chose 2 colors, yellow and red. The yellow is opaque and the red is transparent, the hope was that if I put the red over the yellow I would get orange. It doesn't exactly look orange, more pukey orange-brown, but I still like it! This pic makes it look much better than it does in real life :)

Now when I say that I made this, I really only got to do a small part of it on my own and Dan helped me with the rest. (I wish I could share pics of making it but there was no way to take pics while holding onto molten glass.) Dan gathered the clear glass on the rod and then handed it over to me and I heated it in the glory hole and rolled it into powdered glass. Then the powered glass had to be melted so back into the glory hole it went. I rolled it in powdered glass and heated it back up 4 times and then heated the whole thing up really good. The tricky part is that you have to keep turning it so the glass doesn't fall off the rod. Then Dan held onto the rod and kept it spinning and I got to take tweezers and change the shape of the color circle. That is how I got the swirls and air bubbles in there. I stuck the tweezers in and twisted and pulled. Then Dan took the whole thing and covered it in clear glass and shaped it for me. It has to cool down slowly in a kiln and then Dan grinds the bottom so it lays flat. I went back a week later and picked it up.

Photography tip: This is how I took this pic. I used my hubby's LED light and put a piece of white paper over it. I made sure it wasn't too sunny because the glass is very reflective. You can see a little bit of the window in the reflection. Here is what it would look like if I didn't use the light below:
Hopefully that little tip helps :) Happy Weekend!!

Hi, my name is Kris. Welcome to everywhere orange! I'm a high school art teacher taking a break to be at home with my 5 and 1 year old sons. I have always enjoyed crafting and cooking, but in the last 5 years at home I finally had the time to really explore new things in the kitchen and focus on my craftiness at home. The color orange and I go way back, long before I met my husband 16.5 years ago. I wanted a place I could share recipes and the crafty things I make and some orange. Thanks for stopping by!!